How I Made $44.82 My Third Month Blogging

Yaaassss, it’s income report time! Let’s see how well the month of March was for me. Blogging isn’t easy but it can be so fun and very fulfilling! So grab yourself a glass of your favorite drink and let’s spend a little quality time together. 🍷

Let’s Catch Up

Hey Loves, Happy Spring! I am here with another Income Report. I just want to know are you as addicted to reading income reports as I am? I mean it’s so bad I created a whole board on Pinterest about it. (Remember this is a no judgement zone) 😂 If you want to see my Blogging Income Reports Board on Pinterest Check it out here.

So before I let you in on How I Made $44.82 My Third Month Blogging I want to play catch up. If you’re new to my income reports I want to give you the opportunity to see how my first two months went!

Income Report Catch Up

• 1st Month – How I Made 91 Cents In My First Month Blogging
• 2nd Month – How I made $42 My Second Month Blogging

I can honestly say that this year is legit flying by! If it wasn’t for these income reports every month I would forget what happened. So in February I implemented some goals for myself for March and we will see how I did and if I succeeded or failed. Plus the most important part is how I actually made my $44.82 this month.

**This page contains affiliate links to products I recommend. If you purchase something from this page, I may receive a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you**

The Ugly Truth

As some of you may know I started my first income report letting all my viewers know about the ugly truth behind starting a new blog. So I want to continue the trend with all the new finds that I see that happen to fall in line with the ugly truth.

This month I realized that when you read some of these “fluff post” on “how I got 500,000 views my first month blogging” that they never give you ALL the deets (aka details) on exactly what they did to achieve those numbers. Like I’ve mentioned a number of different times, when you start a brand new blog it’s hard to get 20 views a day better yet a 500,000.

Let’s Be REAL

Did these bloggers who got “500k views” seriously achieve that on there own or did they buy views? Can you buy views like you can buy followers on Instagram? Who knows, my point is, I have yet to read a post that has given me 100% facts on how they gained over a hundred thousands views in one month off of a BRAND NEW BLOG. If you have seen these facts please send them over to me.

Needless to say Pinterest was once again my bestie in doing research to help my baby blog grow, and when I tell you that I am absolutely happy with the progress, I mean it! My audience (aka you fabulous viewers) keep coming back to show me sooo much love. With every view, comment, and like, it seriously warms my heart so Thank you!

Find Out What’s Important

When you’re starting a blog you need to figure out what’s important to you, your brand, and your blog. I find that most bloggers tend to be unsuccessful because they never realize what’s important. Is it more important to you to have fun and tell your story? Or maybe money is more important. (Heck, when is money not important these days) 🤷‍♀️

The point is, to be successful you have to find out what is important to YOU. There is not a blog post anywhere that can answer this question for you. You maybe able to find some that can help, but none will be spot on in what YOU consider to be important. Once you figure this out you’re one step closer to being a successful blogger.

The Blogging Community

Now another thing that I found myself falling in love with in March was my Blogging Communities. If you haven’t read my last blog post on Finding Your Blogging Community please stop and take a look. I go into serious detail just how important it is to find a group of like minded individuals who can not only support you, but answer all your blogging questions.

During the month of March I found my blogging communities and let me tell you they have been THE most helpful during my journey. I have heard from some of my blogging friends who also agree that there blog would not be where it is today had they not found the right blogging communities.

What Worked and What Didn’t

In my last blog post on Finding Your Blogging Community I talked about 12 different communities that I was involved in. (Well technically I’m in waaayy more but I discussed a few). Amongst a few of them I wanted to tell you which one’s work and which one’s hasn’t so far.

• The Secret Tribe
• Tailwind Tribes
• Facebook Groups

The Secret Tribe

Although The Secret Tribe is fairly new and gaining crazy momentum, as a whole I can see the growth in every blog post not only being seen by the members but more of a willingness to engage. In some groups there are “rules” for engagement, which makes some views and comments so unauthentic. But in The Secret Tribe you post your tweet, blog post, Instagram picture and those who identify with your post engage willing and I absolutely love that.

Have I mentioned how helpful everyone is in this Tribe? OMG! Unlike some other communities when you ask a question you actually get an answer! How amazing right??? Plus you don’t have a set day or time to post anything! #rainbowsandsunshine over here ladies and gentlemen. 🌈🌞

Needless to say The Secret Tribe definitely working for me. I know as it grows so will my following on my blog platform and I’m excited to see where it takes me from here.

Tailwind Tribes

My lovely Tailwind Tribes, how I love thee. 💕 Like seriously guys, if you have not gotten on the Tailwind train you need too. I discussed some of the tribes that I’m involved in, in both my blogging communities and second income report. So check back there for more deets. During the month of March Tailwind really started showing me major love the last couple of weeks.

Keep in mind that Tailwind is the smartest way to manage your presence across the visual web (Pinterest & Instagram). Tailwind is an official partner of both Pinterest and Instagram and offers a complete suite of marketing tools including Smart Scheduling, Analytics & Monitoring, Content Discovery, Promotion, and more.

Find out why over 200,000 bloggers, brands and agencies rely on Tailwind as their visual marketing co-pilot for winning on Pinterest and Instagram. 

The Benefits of Tailwind

So I started paying for Tailwind towards the very end of February. The only reason why I decided to go ahead and take the plunge was because I wanted to fully maximize my reach of viewers when it came to Pinterest. I would honestly be doing you a disservice if I didn’t tell you how much Tailwind has increased my reach across the board.

I legit went from only seeing MAYBE 10 views a day to getting at least 50. To some that might not be a lot but for a newbie like myself it was AMAZING. Towards the end of March I would wake up to at least 10 views every morning. #littlewins

Shoot I would go to bed with at least 3-4 views, and I go to bed pretty late, past 12am eastern standard time to be exact. So I get a little glimpse of what my viewers like to read way before I actually start my day. All of this is because of Tailwind and how amazing it works with Pinterest.

To Pay or Not To Pay, That is The Question

Now the bigger question is to pay or not to pay that is the question. You can honestly use the free version of tailwind for as long as you want but you will of course have limited access. You have to look at the bigger picture when it comes down to rather or not you will pay for their services.

If you are selling a service or speaking about a cause that you need seen across the world then the fastest way to get that promotion or message out is Tailwind ladies and gentlemen. By being in tribes alone you could reach a minimum of 20,000 viewers depending on how repinable your image is, and if it fits a niche your tribe members are needing at that moment in time.

Just Do It

All in all I would definitely say Tailwind is working. It automatically post for me and I don’t have to worry about pinning on Pinterest when I’m out of town or spending time with family and friends because I know if I keep my que filled I will always have new pins going out. Tailwind shows me mad love by doing this. New bloggers if you want to be successful this is the way to go! I wish I had started Tailwind day one. I think my following would have grown 3X as fast. Stop thinking about this one and Just Do It!

Facebook Groups

My Facebook groups, how I adore thee. They are my second tool to getting me daily views. Finding these Facebook groups have been lifesavers. Not only are they great for getting eyes on your blog but they happen to consist of a huge group of amazingly advance bloggers.

The only downfall is some of the groups have crazy rules and restrictions. As most of you know I have two jobs. Sometimes I’ll sign up to participate in the “Comment on 10 Blog Post” then I either forget which group it was for OR I never completed the task. #fail

The Admins in most Facebook groups do not play. You don’t follow the rules and complete your task in a timely manner then you are out! (Which I totally get, they have over thousands of people in there group. They really don’t have time to babysit people who can’t follow simple rules.) But it puts a lot a of pressure on the blogger to maintain there post and follow through. It took me a while to figure out what worked and didn’t work for me, when it came to the Facebook groups.

Hints

• Hint #1 – You don’t have to participate in every promoted post that shows up on your timeline
• Hint #2 – If your going to sign up for multiple post in different groups do yourself a favor and do each one right away so you don’t have to worry about getting reprimanded for the post you didn’t complete.
• Hint #3 – Never overwhelm yourself. The whole point in joining the group is to gain knowledge, make friends, and gain engagement. It’s not supposed to feel like a job.

Facebook groups are good way to build engagement, make friends, and gain knowledge. But remember all of that comes at a price. I’ve notice since I’ve joined these Facebook groups that my bounce rate has been ridiculous, and by ridiculous I’m talking 80% or a little above which is soooo horrible! So all in all Facebook works you just got to know how to work it!

Bounce Rates

Now I know some of you are looking at your screen like lady are you going to tell us what the heck bounce rate is?? I wouldn’t leave you hanging. Besides a little research never hurt nobody!

What is a Bounce Rate?

Bounce rate is single-page sessions divided by all sessions, or the percentage of all sessions on your site in which users viewed only a single page and triggered only a single request to the Analytics server.

These single-page sessions have a session duration of 0 seconds since there are no subsequent hits after the first one that would let Analytics calculate the length of the session.

Layman’s Terms

For my viewers that basically thought that was gibberish, let me break it down in layman’s terms. 😂 Bounce Rate basically tracks how long an individual stays on one page of your website. The goal here is to have every viewer stay on one blog post for AT LEAST ONE MINUTE. Anything over a minute is amazing! The moreviewera stay the better. That’s why it is so important to link other blog post within your blog post. To keep your viewers on your blog as long as possible.

Let Me Be Very Blunt

Let me be very blunt, everyone is not made for this blogging life, especially if your end game is to make money off of it. Blogging is suppose to be fun and refreshing. Another way to voice your opinions to the world in a way that is suitable for you.

Some do blogging as a hobby, and guess what? People make money off of hobbies. Will you be an internet sensation the first day? No, the first week? Probably not, but you know what you will have? Respect! Respect from other bloggers out here who can relate to your struggle and your sacrifice. If your going to do this, then you better go hard! Never give up and take the words I can’t out of your vocabulary, because only winners read post like this! And you my friend are just that, a WINNER.

Clicks

This little baby right here can make or break your monetize site. Clicks are simply when a viewer decides to click your ad. Rather it’s by mistake or they really see one that they would like to know more about or even buy what is advertised. Either way clicks are soooo hard to come by when you are starting out.

Just imagine you just launched your blog and you have three consistent viewers everyday just waiting to see what you come up with next. Well out of those three you probably have a 10% chance of someone clicking an ad and about 2% chance that they will actually buy something.

Most people that go to any website kinda see ads, like a fly. They just want them to go away. They don’t realize that, that’s how some of us make money at the end of the day. A gesture formulated into something as small as a click could be so meaningless to you, but to a website owner that is EVERYTHING!

I legit smile when I see that someone actually clicked my ad. I mean that’s after I get over the shock. 😂 But you get where I’m going with this. Clicks are life when you own a website. So you have to make sure your content is amazing enough for people to read it, then you have to be very strategic with your ad placement. You don’t want your viewers to feel bombarded with ads, when all they REALLY came to do was gain a little knowledge.

How I Made $44.82 My Third Month Blogging

The moment you all have been waiting for! How I Made $44.82 My Third Month Blogging. Now my baby blog has come a long way since January. Not only are my views up but social media is finally catching onto the Designs By Vee wave and I’m loving every second of it.

I legit want to Thank every last one of you for visiting my site. Rather this is your first time or your tenth. Even if you just came to visit to read this post and your never come back again, I appreciate you taking the time to spend with me. Your time is valuable and I’m honored to have a little bit of it. You could be spending your time doing something else, but you’re here with me, and trust your view does not go unnoticed. 😘

Designer for Hire

Most of my money came from my Designer for Hire business that I launched this year. A lot of my customers are more than excited that they no longer have to spend time trying to design graphics to promote their business. If you or someone you know are in need of some social media graphics please stop by my page and lets get started on this consultation. Who doesn’t like FREE? Plus the prices are amazing! Check me out, I’m telling you it’s worth a peek.

Customer Shout Outs

I have to take a moment to shout out a couple of my customers that have been rocking with me for months! Not only do they support my business that they have also given me access to more customers which is priceless. I didn’t ask you ladies to promote me but you did, and I really appreciate it! Please check these ladies out when you get a chance. They have some awesome work and great products!

• Natalie at Does it Work
• Adrienne at Queen Ester Herbal Teas

Ladies your support does not go unnoticed thank you so much for continuing to be a valued customer by Designs by Vee. I can’t wait to create more amazing designs for you. Your success is my success. Remember, a click to these ladies sites cost you nothing but a little of your time. Check them out and see what they are all about.

March Income Report

Previous Income Reports

• January 2019: 91 cents
• February 2019: $42

March Income Report Breakdown

Google AdSense – $2.18

Designer for Hire – $42.64 (PayPal had to get their cut)

TOTAL: $44.82

Google AdSense for the Month of March

Now remember these figures will only get paid out once I hit the $100 mark so this is my income before they are actually paid out. Just want you to keep that in mind.

Traffic Breakdown

In my last income report I played catch up and displayed my traffic breakdown for January and February. Well here is my breakdown for the month of March.

Here is an overview of the month of March. The whole goal is having any kind of business is growth. I can honestly say I am hella proud of my baby blog! Let’s break down what you see.

The Break Down

So in the month of March I have a total of 572 users. Out of the 572 people 541 were new to my website. Now out of the total of 572 users I was able to hit a total of 1,028 pageviews!!! Can a sista get a silent clap please? 👏👏🙌Goals are being accomplished here ladies and gentlemen.

Moving right along, out of those 1,028 pageviews my users stayed at least 1:09 minutes. So what that is telling me is that you guys are liking my stuff. The goal is to have viewers/users stay on your page for at LEAST one minute in order to lower your bounce rate from other users who come to get cliff notes.

The Comparison

Let’s take a look at my figures from February in comparison to March shall we? I’m more or a visual learner so I will have to show you better than I can tell you.

As you can see last month I had a total of 303 users. Out of those 303 users I had 304 new users. Now out of those 303 users I was able to hit a total of 619 pageviews. Now let’s be clear that is still not bad for a short month like February and for a baby blog that was long launched a few months ago.

The Key

The key to keeping a popping blog is to remain positive and celebrate the little wins! If you ever need motivation or a pick me up, please check out my Motivational Quotes page on my blog. Even if you think that your 572 users isn’t a lot you think about how other new bloggers may feel. To them 572 viewers is like hitting the lottery. Never ever down play your little wins because there is always someone out there trying to reach your goal. Always celebrate each and every milestone. 🥂 Cheers, I’ll drink to that!

My Blogging Schedule For March

My blogging schedule for March in my opinion sucked! But I am my own boss so I get to keep my job 😝. Let me go ahead and make this point very clear. You are your own boss, if you make a schedule for your blog and you don’t succeed at that goal guess what? No one will know BUT YOU! Even your faithful viewers who know your blogging schedule will question where you post is on that particular day like my coworker Russ. (Hey friend 🖐) But even your faithful viewers will understand, I mean you are human….right? 🤔

OK! Now that I got that little speech out the way, back to business.

Blog Post

Now my goal was to post at least twice a month. I ended the month with 3 blog post! Yay!!! I am killing the game! #Bossonamission 💃💃

• How I Made $42 My Second Month Blogging

• Perfect Living Room Decor Ideas

• Find Your Blogging Community

Retail Rants

My goal is to write a rant every Thursday! I held true to my goal! So once again Yay!! #Shebad 🎊🎉

Started with:

• Retail Rants #14 – I Have A Return

• Retail Rants #15 – Fit Verses Print

• Retail Rants #16 – Can I Help You?

• Retail Rants #17 – So You Need A Fitting Room

Motivational Quotes

My goal here is to post once a week. I actually did 2! So One motivational quote every other week! Not too bad but I could do better. I mean who doesn’t like to read a motivational quote once a week?

Get the Look for Less

Is supposed to be bi-weekly. I actually fell short on this goal. I was only able to accomplish one look this month. But it was one hell of a look! (If I may say so myself) 😏

Get the Look for Less – Time To Spring into Fashion Part 2

Interior Design

Goal is to post a topic here one or twice a month. I actually accomplished this goal this month and I was soo excited to write about it too. I really do love interior design.

If you haven’t read my blog post on Perfect Living Room Decor Ideas I suggest you check it out now. I promise I won’t disappoint. 😁

Goals For April

Now is a better time than ever to set some goals for myself. So let’s get to it! Last month I told set a goal of getting a 1,000 page views and I did better than that by ending March with 1,028 page views. So of course I want to set an even higher goal for myself for April.

Designs By Vee Goals

• Page Views: 2,000
• Blog Post: 2
• Retail Rants: 4
• Motivational Quotes: 4
• Get The Look For Less: 2
• Interior Design Post: 1

Social Media Goals

• Get my Pinterest followers up to 250
• Facebook likes to 150
• Instagram followers to 1,500
• Twitter followers to 40
• Tumblr followers to 10

Affiliates Goals

All my goals for my affiliates remain the same for April.

ShareaSale
Make at least 5 affiliated sales

Google Adsense 
Make at least $5

Designer for Hire
Get 6 more clients for the month.

My Top Pin For The Month Of March

Before You Go

I know, I know as if you haven’t read enough. I just have a couple of things that I want to leave you. I want to give you just a few more tips so you can be THE most successful on your blogging journey.

Hostess With The Mostest

If you are new to the game of blogging and need blogging tips I am soooo here for you. My first tip of many, is to get with a great hosting company. You can go with anyone but if you are wanting my recommendation I am team Bluehost all the way. I’m sure you’re probably asking yourself “why should I pick Bluehost?”

Well simply put, they have great prices that you will be locked in at, plus the customer service is badass! Periodt! I went through pure hell setting up my blog on wordpress. I mean it kicked my 🙊 so bad I was to the point where I said da hell with it all. I’m pretty sure I gain another 10 grey hairs because of it.

Bluehost

That’s another great thing about Bluehost, they actually have a team of experts that can help you get that baby looking like a pro in no time. If you are wondering “No, I did not use their team to help set up my blog. But only because I’m economical which is the nice way of saying, cheap.” 🤣🤣 But if you want to stay young, I think that it’s great that Bluehost offers this as an option. (Did I mention I could get a small commission at no additional cost to you? Just saying 💁‍♀️)

Find Your Blogging Community

As you try to find your way as a blogger don’t forget to find your blogging community. This is one of the most helpful groups of people you can get involved with. Even if your an established blogger you can always use someone to bounce ideas off of.

Set Standards For Yourself

I can not urge this enough. Every blogger new or tendered needs to set some standards for their blog. This is a great way to hold yourself accountable to the goals you set for yourself and your brand. If you are anything like me, you hate not meeting goals you set for yourself. My determination is to be a Goal Crusher when it comes to my business.

You Got This!

Always believe in yourself. Find your voice then use it. Even if you think it’s not important, that no one will want to read it. You have to put it out to the universe and let your viewers advise you. Make sure you promote the hell of your blog rather it’s new , or old. It’s never too late to get the traction that you want and need.

Your views will not come overnight so keep that in mind. Just keep writing, keep posting and keep promoting your work. Having a blog will never be an overnight sensation. You have to build on it everyday. Make a schedule and stick to it. You got this! I have the utmost faith in you and all your ambitions and goals. You are about to be another internet sensation and I can’t wait to be your first fan!

Join My Tribe

I have created a Brand New Tribe on Tailwind  called Bosses on a Mission. If you would like to join please click the link. It cost you nothing to promote yourself and I would love to Build a Friendship through design. This is a Pinterest focused group where you can pin your own content for other members to share. The more repins the better right? Come join the rest of the Bosses and let’s Build Your Brand today!